From Hero to Servant to Mystic: Navigating the Deeper Waters of Priestly Spirituality

by Scott P Detisch

From Hero to Servant to Mystic addresses both the initial and ongoing formation of priests by tracing three significant stages in how their spiritual lives unfold. Fr. Scott Detisch offers seminarians, priests, spiritual directors, and clergy personnel directors a way of understanding the whole gamut of spiritual growth and development in priests by focusing on three major clusters of energies within men—the Hero, the Servant, and the Mystic. By recognizing the difficulties that may arise within the inner life and outer world of a priest, Detisch offers helpful methods for navigating through those challenging periods. By applying these energies to their spiritual lives, priests will experience a different form of relationship with the person of Christ—the Hero, who offers his life for Christ; the Servant, who ministers with Christ; and the Mystic, who lives his life in Christ. 

168 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 11, 2019

Reviews

[Michael Vidrine · Rating 2 out of 5]

There’s a tendency among some spiritual writers, especially in the Ignatian tradition, to obsess over spiritual desolation in a way that drives me crazy. They overanalyze and encourage their readers to do the same, trying to understand everything about it, anticipate the next wave, prepare for how it’ll get worse, here’s what to do, here’s what not to do, here’s how to think about it—on and on. IT’S NOT THAT SERIOUS, BRO. But by constantly over-processing it, they turn it into something way bigger than it needs to be. At a certain point, you just gotta get out of your own head and go do something good.

In Chapter 2 it got to the point that Detisch seemed to be going off if the assumption that there’s something wrong with trying to get out of desolation. Sometimes you can’t avoid it, sure, but joy is a gift of the Holy Spirit. Play is a basic good. True sensitivity to pleasure is part of being a virtuous person. These are things Christians are obliged to actually seek out. Chapter 3 gave a little bit of balance to this idea, but even there, Detisch assumes people’s biggest problem is ignoring introspection—without realizing that can be just as much of an extreme.

Another issue is the book’s reliance on late-20th-century pop psychology. This isn’t a dig at Carl Jung—he was a genius—but Detisch leans into a broader psychological framework that feels dated and forced. And overall, he’s just too rigid about these so-called necessary stages of spiritual growth. Anytime someone insists that “at this point in your journey, you must go through this specific stage,” it’s just oversimplistic at best and misleading at worst.

There’s value in the book (chapter 4’s not bad) and I don’t doubt Detisch’s sincerity, but his approach left me more frustrated than enlightened.

[John-Francis Friendship · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best books I've read on priestly spirituality. Although the author is a Roman Catholic writing, primarily, for catholic clergy, what is said applies to any ordained person - in fact, anyone in any form of consecrated life. Addressing the development process indicated in the title Fr Scott Detisch ably identifies the way in which we need to internalise a holistic approach to priestly vocation by recognising the movement which needs to occur. The energy of the ego-Hero needs the humility of the Servant who will lead the priest into the silence of the Mystic.

[Br. John Mary Lauderdale OFM Cap · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good and helpful book outlining three stages of spiritual development in the life of the priest and religious.